Chapter 2: Riddick
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Riddick watched Jack go out the door. She's getting more complicated by the day. He thought. "I don't want to be raising another teenage girl. Believe me, ones enough, but two? I'm not even that tough." He explained, putting his palms on Hocks's desk.
What was he going to do? He knew he owed numerous big-time favors to him. After-all he had saved his ass more then once in slam. But he had to be careful. He had a bounty too, he had mercs on his tail as well, what if she turned out to be one of them. Even though she was Hocks's niece, some people were driven by money, and for his capture, the pay-off was astronomical. It could corrupt even the best intentional people. Now to make matters worse, Jack wanted her around as well. He had felt her burst of excitement when Hocks introduced the wonderful proposition. Suddenly, he was shaken out of his thoughts by Hocks's spontaneous chuckle.
"She doesn't need any raising Riddick." He said sarcastically, giving him a sly grin. Riddick looked at him for a moment, giving him a blank stare. Hocks's shook his head, " She's twenty-four years old. Very smart, and very street educated. She's been on her own since before Jack's age. " He paused to look at Riddick, a twinkle in his eyes, " Don't sound so sure of yourself. Right now you look like a deer caught in the head lights of a semi! She's seen too much of the world to be ignorant about life Poor kid." His features softened considerably. He suddenly sobered, not speaking.
Riddick groaned. He got him, damn he was good at this passive persuasion stuff. "Great, now I have two females breathing down my neck." He stated plainly. Hocks smirked, "Look your particularly lucky. Me, I was the only boy out of five girls. Talk about NO privacy. Every guy on my block called be Honey instead of Hocks, and asked if I could crochet them some mittens for Christmas." He shook his head, "I got into a lot of fights as a teenager." Riddick chuckled to himself, trying to imagine Hocks knitting. "ListenRiddick. Since your doing me this favor," Hocks said it like it reeked something awful, he knew Hocks hated asking anyone for anything, "I'm giving ya' weekends off, Saturday and Sunday." He concluded, clapping him roughly on the shoulder. "Thanks." Riddick whispered, as if someone else was in the room. "No, thank you. Now get out of here." He said, walking back to his desk. Riddick nodded, and headed out the door. Well, he thought, at least Jack would be happy.
Riddick walked into the hall, like a shot Jack came running up to him, "Well Riddick?" Her eyes were wide with anticipation. Riddick inwardly sighed. What was so special to Jack about this girl? He wondered. " Jack, why You usually hate strangers?" He tried to ask as casually, and gently as he could. She shrugged and sighed. Looking a lot like Fry. "I donno. It might be cool to have another girl around. She has a record, even a bounty. She's definitelyprobably, not the prissy typeso," She was struggling with something. She wanted desperately to say something, but then again looked like she didn't exactly want to say it to him. "I, guessmaybe," She continued, staring down at her hands. Riddick put his hand on her shoulder. "Okay just slow down. Know that she might not turn out to be the way you expect her to be." He finished, she shook her head quietly, looking up at him with those big brown eyes or hers. He let out a sigh of relief, happy that moment was over. He hated to see her that way.
They headed up to the third floor, down a dimly lit hallway, that suited him just fine. The only source light was from air vents on the baseboards. The floors were roughened stainless steal, and the doors had no frame. Everything was integrated into the walls, things slid out, dropped down, but eventually everything went back into it's original place, disappearing until it needed to be used. The walls had a dim sheen, that metal always had, the air smelled of machinery and scientifically generated air (which didn't smell too bad, once you got used to it).
They got up to the room, a scanner ran across both their bodies. After a routine of clicking, whooshing, and mechanical cranking noises it finally concluded 'Accesses Granted.' The voice was impersonal, that of a computer. The door glided open to reveal another door, that was a replica of an 2000 old earth, hotel room door, with a retro peep hole and a card key slot. He remembered history documentation that said that once the people on earth, used metal keys that they had to turn in a lock to get into their homes.
The card key slot beeped and the door opened. It was larger then he expected. Furnished nicer then he was used to. It had everything. A food processor, a gas cooking stove, a laser powered microwave, a fridge. And in the livingroom was a nuclear low-radiation television that was about a quarter of an inch thick. Three rooms down the hall. Another room off to the side, that he guessed was a workout room. All in all it was the most comfortable he'd come across in years. He hoped they wouldn't be leaving for a while. He also hoped they didn't have any unwanted surprises or visitors for that matter. "Well Kid lets get unpacked. You know the drill." He said casually. Jack nodded. "I know. I know. Only unpack what you absolutely need, keep your duffel under your bed, and at night always lock your door, but never double lock it with an access code, so things don't get overly complicated if we have to get out." She stated in a bored monotone voice, as she headed down the hall. Since when did she get to be such a smart-ass, Riddick wondered.
He headed down the hall to his own room. He chose the one closest to the door, just incase they had to run. The room was surprisingly very much to his liking. The bed was a king, and the bathroom and shower was in the same proportionshuge. Then he noticed a miniature hand-held plasma screen on his pillow. The screen said 'One new message' He picked it up and pressed play. Hocks's face appeared on the screen. "Thought you'd pick the room closest to the door, so everythin' should fit you well. Call me if your need anything else. You shouldn't need a bigger bed, if you get my drift." He said a smirk in his voice. Riddick smiled. Something's never changed.
Meanwhile..
